Published: Thursday, October 10, 2013 at 10:53 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, October 10, 2013 at 10:53 p.m.

SARASOTA - In another sign of commitment to addressing homelessness, Sarasota County has created a homeless coordinator.

Wayne Applebee, the county’s criminal justice policy coordinator, will shift to the new post over the next few weeks, and said he will likely remain homeless coordinator for a couple of years.

Robert Marbut, a consultant local governments hired to come up with a plan to decrease the number of people living in camps, cars and shelters, has repeatedly suggested that one person needs to wake up every morning and ask what they can do to address homelessness in the area.

He cited Rhonda Abbott, the former homeless services manager in St. Petersburg. She worked closely with Marbut when her city contracted with him in 2011.

Applebee said county officials approached him about the new job last week.

Once Marbut completes his plan, which is expected by the end of November, Applebee will move to implement it, assuing the community adopts Marbut’s recommendations.

The coordinator announced his new position Thursday at a meeting of the Community Alliance’s subcommittee on homelessness.

The agency and community leaders at the meeting discussed new data they collected on homeless men and women living in Sarasota County.

Marbut had directed the agencies to spend a week gathering the best numbers possible on homeless adults in the county, particularly those who are unsheltered.

The data, compiled by the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness, showed 1,460 men and women were homeless and of those, 655 were living outside of shelters — in camps and on the streets.

Many people at the meeting said the focus on adults resulted in inaccurate information on the number of children. The 161 boys and girls who reported being homeless is well below the real numbers, Schoolhouse Link Director Ellen McLaughlin said.

The group decided to conduct a community-led survey of children.

But Steve Prichard, of Venice, said that he has helped with many local surveys. When he gets homeless people’s names and information, they ask him when the community is going to act on the information they repeatedly collect.

“It seems to me we’ve been doing surveys and census things for years,” Prichard said. “I’m waiting for something to actually happen. Not another survey.”

<p><em>SARASOTA</em> - In another sign of commitment to addressing homelessness, Sarasota County has created a homeless coordinator.</p><p>Wayne Applebee, the county's criminal justice policy coordinator, will shift to the new post over the next few weeks, and said he will likely remain homeless coordinator for a couple of years. </p><p>Robert Marbut, a consultant local governments hired to come up with a plan to decrease the number of people living in camps, cars and shelters, has repeatedly suggested that one person needs to wake up every morning and ask what they can do to address homelessness in the area. </p><p>He cited Rhonda Abbott, the former homeless services manager in St. Petersburg. She worked closely with Marbut when her city contracted with him in 2011.</p><p>Applebee said county officials approached him about the new job last week.</p><p>Once Marbut completes his plan, which is expected by the end of November, Applebee will move to implement it, assuing the community adopts Marbut's recommendations.</p><p>The coordinator announced his new position Thursday at a meeting of the Community Alliance's subcommittee on homelessness. </p><p>The agency and community leaders at the meeting discussed new data they collected on homeless men and women living in Sarasota County.</p><p>Marbut had directed the agencies to spend a week gathering the best numbers possible on homeless adults in the county, particularly those who are unsheltered. </p><p>The data, compiled by the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness, showed 1,460 men and women were homeless and of those, 655 were living outside of shelters — in camps and on the streets. </p><p>Many people at the meeting said the focus on adults resulted in inaccurate information on the number of children. The 161 boys and girls who reported being homeless is well below the real numbers, Schoolhouse Link Director Ellen McLaughlin said. </p><p>The group decided to conduct a community-led survey of children.</p><p>But Steve Prichard, of Venice, said that he has helped with many local surveys. When he gets homeless people's names and information, they ask him when the community is going to act on the information they repeatedly collect.</p><p>“It seems to me we've been doing surveys and census things for years,” Prichard said. “I'm waiting for something to actually happen. Not another survey.”</p>